The theme song to the show: "There's a hold-up in the Bronx, Brooklyn's broken out in fights / There's a traffic jam in Harlem that's backed up to Jackson Heights / There's a Scout troop short a child, Khrushchev's due at Idlewild! / Car 54 where are you?"
NBC wanted to buy part ownership of the show in exchange for it being renewed for a third season. Creator Nat Hiken refused and the show's sponsor, Proctor and Gamble, tried to take the show to CBS, but the network had no room on its schedule. Hiken had become burnt out on the show due to its single camera set-up, which required more time. He also had constant problems with Joe E. Ross, who had trouble remembering his lines. Hiken gladly ended the show and never worked on another series again.
For the black-and-white location shots, the green parts of the normally black, white and green patrol cars were painted red so as not to confuse the local populace.
Al Lewis joined the cast as Officer Leo Schnauser beginning with the 13th episode of Season 1. Prior to that he appeared in Episode 7, The Paint Job (1961), playing Al, the owner of Al's Garage where he would repair and repaint stolen cars for a car theft ring.
The large circular object on the dashboard between the two officers is an speedometer specifically calibrated to use against speeders in court as the standard speedometer that came in the car was inaccurate.